Ohio Courts Technology Survey Released

The Supreme Court of Ohio has recently released a summary of their latest technology survey. Highlights include finding that nearly all courts have Internet access and approximately half have some kind of document imaging technology installed.

Drug Court Online Training Event

"Drug Courts Reexamined," is a free online event November 13, 2006 2:00–4:00 pm (eastern time)

Featuring:

• Michael Rempel, Research Director at the Center for Court Innovation.
• Peter F. Luongo, Ph.D., Director of the Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration.
• Judge Terry D. Terrell, First Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.
• Moderated by Thomas J. Charron, Executive Director of the National District Attorneys Association.

The event is hosted by: Harvard University's Government Innovators Network, the National Institute of Justice of the U.S. Department of Justice, and the online housing resource KnowledgePlex.

US Sentencing Comission Electronic Reporting

In its Fall 2006 Guidelines Newsletter the US Federal Sentencing Commission notes that 70 Federal District Courts are "submitting their case files electronically." The case files include "the five required documents (i.e., judgment and commitment order, statement of reasons form, any plea agreement, the charging document, and the presentence report)" using PDF format.

(Author's note: Now if we can just get them to use the GJXDM. For more information about XML-based charge and sentencing reporting see our National Standards web page )

A Great Domestic Court Judge's Website in Ohio

We have recently become aware of Judge Mike Voris' web site for the Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Division, in Clermont County, Batavia, Ohio: http://www.domesticcourt.org/
He features a lot of court forms, a streaming video interview as well as other information to help litigants navigate their way through the judicial system. Well done!

Ohio Supreme Court Announces Effort to Build Statewide Network Connecting Courts

State of Ohio Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer recently announced in his State of the Judiciary Address that a plan to build a statewide network connecting courts throughout the state to share information with each other and law enforcement partners is moving forward.

Links to Supreme Courts Around the World

Our good friend Judge Stein Schjolberg from Norway has build a very handy new website, Global Courts, that provides links to national Supreme Court decisions from around the world.

Saving a Troubled Project

Computerworld magazine posted an excellent article regarding techniques that can be applied to salvage a troubled information technology project

Saving a Troubled Project

Computerworld magazine posted an excellent article regarding techniques that can be applied to salvage a troubled information technology project

XML Documents - Why Should I Care?

I can summarize the answer to the above titled question in one word - control. For as long as court case management systems have existed, there has been a continual struggle between the need for more data to be added and the time it takes for a programmer and database administrator to add it to the system. XML documents can give court staff an additional tool to add and control their own data collection instruments, just like they could in the "paper world." Now there are currently significant issues as to whether the court case management system being used in a particular court can store or link to documents. But once that is in place, and there is an upgrade to new XML-enabled databases, court staff will be able to use documents as an integral part of their system. Mr. Ronald Bourret has written a general tutorial about XML and Databases that may be of help in explaining this concept further. In addition, there are a few InfoWorld articles on Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and IBM DB2 databases that, while rather technical, can provide addition illumination of the new database capabilities and hence, new thinking that needs to be applied to our situation in the courts.

Next time - Using Search to Count

Self-Docketing Smart Documents

I've been spending time in Orlando, Florida recently and I had the privilege of meeting with Ms. Carolyn Weber who is their E-filing (ECF) project manager. Carolyn has a great example of smart documents on the Orange County Clerk of Court ECF project website. Their system currently supports three documents, the Certificate of Service, Summons, and most important the Case Initiation Worksheet, that can be downloaded, completed and when submitted to the E-filing system, saves a considerable amount of time in completing the filing. If you have a chance, I recommend downloading the Case Initiation Worksheet and then right-click on the "gray boxes" to see how they have coded the field names for later "parsing" into their case management system. I think that this is a good example of progressive thinking because it advances toward the goal of single source data capture which also makes it more accurate.

Next week - XML in word processing and why should you care?

Clark County Regional Justice Center Adds WiFi Access

A press release from Clark County, Nevada (Las Vegas) shares information regarding their new wireless network system.

Agile Software Development

I just finished reading the September 2006 digital edition of "Dr. Dobb's Journal". I was intrigued by Scott Ambler's article "Survey Says: Agile Works in Practice". We haven't seen many court IT organizations adopting agile development methodologies, but such methods and techniques are certainly making headway in other industries. Of particular interest are the survey results presented in Scott's article showing increased productivity, system quality and stakeholder satisfaction in projects using agile approaches

How Smart Can We Make the Documents?

I have written about this before, but lately, after working with several case management systems I have become more and more convinced that court technologists are still missing the point that the data is in the document. Almost everything that a court does either involves receiving a document or producing a document. The smarter that we make documents, by "tagging" the information via templates and forms, the less data entry is needed because either the document becomes the database or the data is automatically parsed and entered into the court's database.

On the input side, courts have done an excellent job of posting their forms in editable formats and PDF. But very few have "connected the dots" by using these forms as data sources in their E-filing projects. I find that it is particularly interesting that progress in this area is being made in the integrated justice projects with GJXDM technology rather than in civil case E-filing. For example, at CTC8, Orange County, Florida Integrated Justice System project showed their automated criminal complaint systems and at the upcoming E-Courts Conference this December, the Maricopa County, Arizona Integrated Justice System will be showing their electronic warrant system.

Further, most court automation seem to still treat court generated documents as reports or as separate standalone systems. When a court creates a document using word processing software, it should not simply be printed on paper. It should also be stored electronically and linked to the case management system. There are many ways that this can be done and I'll write about a few of them next week.

Philadelphia Courtroom Website

For those of you looking for ideas about how to present the capabilities of your own "Hi-Tech" Courtroom, you might want to check out the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania First Judicial District website on Courtroom 625.

Orange County, California Allows Jurors to Request Delay Online

In the NCSC's Jur-E Bulletin, July Edition the editors note that the Orange County, California Superior Court has an excellent Jury Services website. They also had a link to an article in the Orange County (CA) Register newspaper about the site.

A Lawyer's View of Appellate Technology

Mr. Howard Bashman of Law.com shares his experiences on video and teleconferencing in his article, Commentary: Predicting Technology's Impact on Appellate Oral Argument. He also muses about the use of collaboration software in Appellate Court proceedings.

PC Posture

eWeek Magazine has posted an interesting article about computer user ergonomics titled "The Perils of PC Posture"

Federal Courts E-Government Act Compliance

In an article in the US Federal Court's newsletter, "The Third Branch", they reported that the judiciaries compliance with the "E-Government Act of 2002" was nearly total. The article explains that the US Congress passed the E-Government Act in order to improve customer service to citizens via the Internet. The article further notes that nearly 200 Federal Courts have their own websites, and that many are not only in compliance but exceed the type and amount of information required.

Electronic Case Filing Program Kicks Off At Orange County Clerk's Office

Thanks to Leesa Bainbridge of the Orange County, Florida Clerk of Circuit Court office for the following article.

Orange County Clerk of Courts Lydia Gardner is pleased to announce that Ed Foster of Akerman, Senterfitt and Edison became the first attorney to electronically file a case under our new Electronic Case Filing system.

The Complex Business Litigation case was filed April 5, 2006, in the Civil Division under the direction of Program Manager Carolyn Weber.

"We are thrilled to get our first case just 14 months after we began laying the groundwork for the project", Gardner said. "E-commerce is the future and we plan to stay on the cutting edge of that universe."

Gardner also praised the leadership of Weber, whose experience developing an Electronic Case Filing system in the federal courts was invaluable as she began creating the program for the Orange County Clerk of Courts.

Electronic Case Filing - or ECF - is one of the most significant innovations ever implemented at the Clerk's Office. The E-filing plan was approved by the Supreme Court for Complex Business Litigation in February 2005. As required by the Supreme Court, our operation begins with a pilot program involving a limited number of law firms. In time, that program will expand significantly.

The Orange County Clerk of Courts is the first among large counties to begin rolling out an ECF program.

ECF allows attorneys to electronically file new cases and subsequent pleadings 24 hours a day, seven days a week from anywhere they have Internet access. It allows for 24-hour access to those files, which are secured by a password. It means faster document retrieval, savings on courier and postage fees, fewer visits to the Clerk's Office and reduced use of paper. Attorneys are alerted to any case activity through automatic emails.

There are 50 attorneys registered in ECF with 157 documents electronically filed. We have two pro se tenant eviction cases as part of our pilot phase. The advantages to attorneys, clients and Orange County will only expand as the program grows.

The Promise and Challenges of Jury System Technology

The 2003 book "The Promise and Challenges of Jury System Technology" by Tom Munsterman and Paula Hannaford-Agor is now available online from the National Center for State Courts website. This publication supported by a grant from the State Justice Institute explores issues such as the policy implication of jury management technologies, usage of source lists, qualification and summoning, and service and post-service technologies.

Maricopa County (Phoenix, Arizona) Sends News

Thanks to Katherine Johnson of the Maricopa County Integrated Justice System project in Phoenix, Arizona for sending along their most recent newsletter. Highlights from the newsletter are:

Electronic Filing of Criminal Case Data - Criminal case filing data is being passed electronically from the County Attorney's Office to the Clerk of the Superior Court eliminating the manual data entry and the potential for data entry errors. Once accepted by the Superior Court, copies of the criminal case data are available for other justice agencies to receive. The Public Defender will be the first additional agency to receive this electronic data before the end of this fiscal year.

Electronic Filing of Subsequent Criminal Case Documents - Subsequent criminal case documents such as motions are being transmitted electronically from the County Attorney's Office to the Clerk of the Superior Court and are distributed to the correct parties via the Clerk of Court's eService system.

JWI (Justice Web Interface) - MCAO, Adult Probation - The cutover for Justice Web Interface (JWI), which replaced the Department of Public Safety (DPS) system access, to the County Attorney's Office (MCAO) and Adult Probation (APD) was completed in October 2005.

Form IV A - Initial Appearance - In addition to a regular Form IV, a Form IV-A has to be completed when an arrestee is arrested on a warrant from another jurisdiction. The form has a check box to indicate whether the arrest is a Fugitive of Justice arrest, as well as a section for the arresting officer to describe how the individual was identified as the subject of the warrant. Both the Form IV and the Form IV A would be completed and sent to IA and MCAO.

Increasing Public Access to Court Rules - Moving from Good to Great

Submitted by Cari Gerchick, Esq., Communications Director, Arizona Supreme Court, Administrative Office of the Courts

Submitting changes or comments to Arizona's court rules, which apply in all state courts, has just gotten easier. The Arizona Supreme Court now accepts electronic filing of rule petitions and rule comments at the "Rules EForum." The Rules E-Forum is a website created by the Arizona Supreme Court that allows the public to monitor all pending rules petitions and comments.

"Allowing electronic filing of rule petitions and rule comments saves time and money for members of the legal and non-legal communities who wish to be a part of the rule change process," said Chief Justice Ruth V. McGregor. 

"We're excited about our ability to offer easier access for all interested parties, in another step to move our courts from good to great."

To submit, comment on, or view a rule change petition, please visit www.supreme.state.az.us/rules/ and register.

The public may still submit rule change petitions and comments in the traditional, paper method with the Clerk of the Supreme Court located at 1501 West Washington, Fourth Floor, Phoenix, Arizona 85007. For instructions, please visit: www.supreme.state.az.us/clerk. These documents will appear on the electronic
forum.

For more information about the Arizona Supreme Court's Rules E-Forum, visit: www.supreme.state.az.us/rules/ and click on Frequently Asked Questions.

Michigan Implements Statewide Drug Court Case Management System

Submitted by: Nial Raaen, Director of Trial Court Services, Michigan Supreme Court

The Michigan State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) announces the release of its statewide web-based drug court case information system (DCCMIS). The DCCMIS is designed to support drug court case management and the collection and analysis of drug court data. The DCCMIS project began in late 2003 when SCAO requested technical assistance from the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to recommend an approach to improve drug court automation in the state. NCSC further assisted with the preparation of a request for proposal (RFP) to develop a drug court case management system for statewide implementation. Five focus group meetings were held with drug court users and key stakeholders to refine RFP requirements. An advisory committee of drug court users was convened to review vendor proposals and evaluate system demonstrations. Following a review of ten proposals, the advisory committee recommended that the contract be awarded to Advanced Computer Technologies (ACT) of Montgomery, Alabama.

Development of the DCCMIS software application commenced in January 2005 with site visits to observe court processes and define user requirements in local trial and tribal courts. A users' focus group was then convened to review the design of vendor's current drug court software and identify changes needed to incorporate requirements unique to Michigan. SCAO drug court staff also led a data standards committee to identify required data elements for drug court evaluation. The alpha-version DCCMIS application was then presented to more than 50 users during software testing sessions conducted at the Michigan Hall of Justice in late summer 2005. Final testing of the system was completed at selected beta sites.

The on-going costs of system hosting and maintenance are covered by SCAO. The only cost to local drug courts will be for high speed internet connection and upgrades to PC software and hardware, if needed. All courts that receive state funding through the Michigan Drug Court Grant Program will use the system as a condition of their funding beginning in fiscal year 2007. Other drug courts are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity.

System training starts with a brief site visit to assess each court's readiness for implementation. Courts are responsible for ensuring that they meet necessary hardware and software requirements. Training begins with a regional session for groups of court users, followed by live training at each court site. The SCAO training team is large enough to allow concurrent deployment of the system at several sites. Training and implementation was completed at 54 drug courts within five months of system release. Help desk services and an online users' manual are provided by the vendor, along with on-going support and training from SCAO.

The DCCMIS analysis component will provide users the ability to conduct descriptive and comparative bi-variant analysis of their data without the need to export data into other statistical programs. The system will allow users to select out subgroups of clients using any combination of the variables collected in the system, and provide the analytic tools to describe the frequency, percent, mean, standard deviation, and range of each subgroup. Differences between subgroup characteristics and recidivism can be tested. This will provide managers quick access to information and measurable program performance to assist with strategic planning and administrative decision making.

Funding for the DCCMIS has been provided in part by grants from the Michigan Office of Drug Control Policy and the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning. For questions regarding our project contact Ms. Emily Taylor in the SCAO Drug Court Programs Office at (517) 373-7351 or TaylorE@courts.mi.gov.

Setting Up Multiple Monitors From One PC

Being the techno wizards that we are here at the NCSC, we of course are always trying to figure out a way to buy more technology. The other day we were looking into the ways that we could setup multiple video monitors from one PC or laptop and found this article on Microsoft's website that provides a good starting point for investigation. For several years we have recommended that courts look at multiple smaller monitors for their courtroom bench in order to both increase screen space while maintaining sight lines.

US Supreme Court Approves New Electronic Discovery Rules

Thanks to Michael Arkfeld for this note:

On April 12, 2006 the United States Supreme Court approved the proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. These rules concern the discovery of "electronically stored information" (ESI). These rule changes affect Rules 16, 26, 33, 34, 37, 45 and Form 35.

The rules have been sent to Congress and will become effective on December 1, 2006 unless Congress acts to change or defer the amendments. The amendments are available on the United States Court's web site.